Founded in 2020 in İzmir, Ela Game Studio creates hyper-casual games. Their goal and vision is to become a leading game company not only in Turkey but also in the world. For a long time, Ela Game Studios has focused on the runner genre in hyper-casual games, but lately, they have shifted their focus to Arcade Idle and other genre of games.
We interviewed with Ela Game Studios and dived into details of what makes a good hyper-casual game in the current market.
Ela Game Studio’s motto is “We make Enjoyable Legendary Action” Games. How does this guiding principle shape your game development process?
We are ELA Game Studio, where our principle is “We Make Enjoyable Legendary Action Games“. This principle guides us to prioritize providing players with a fun experience when developing games. It also means we don’t limit ourselves to just one sub-genre.
Image Credit: Google Play
What are the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on one specific genre in hyper-casual games?
For a long time, we focused solely on the Runner sub-genre, creating Runner hyper-casual games. However, lately, we’ve been developing our game “Roll Machine” in the hybrid casual and arcade idle sub-genres, and we are currently in the self-publishing stage. We prefer focusing intensely on genres that we find enjoyable during certain periods. If we discover a different genre that we find fun over time, transitioning to it wouldn’t be surprising.
The advantage of focusing on a specific genre is that eventually, the entire team can internalize that genre. This allows us to approach both brainstorming sessions and game production from the same perspective.
Image Credit: App Store
Ela Game Studio has been focusing on the runner genre. What core design elements contribute to a runner game’s success?
For a runner game to stand out and be successful, this requirement applies not only to the Runner genre but also to all hyper-casual and hybrid casual games. It needs to be built on a unique and engaging core loop supported by complementary elements.
Image Credit: Play Store
Since the beginning of hyper-casual games, the runner genre has constantly evolved. What do you think is the next step for the runner genre, and how do you plan to utilize it?
The Runner genre has evolved and will continue to do so. Each day, numerous Runner game prototypes emerge and fade away. Among them, some are of high quality, while others are not, unfortunately. In the near future, instead of progressing from the Runner genre, we plan to continue working on our Arcade Idle games.
Currently, we find it more suitable to focus on this genre due to its potential for including unlimited side elements that can engage players for up to the 30th day and beyond.
